X Ale, 22nd February 1945 - Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project

hreb

Washington

3.65/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Cool 22oz bottle dated Feb 22, 1945 and Feb 14, 2012. Beer pours deep red amber with a medium thick tan head. Subtle aroma is dominated by malt, with a hint of smoke.

Ooh, way too much carbonation for the style in my book. The flavors here are so gentle they're nearly wiped out by fizz. But moving past that, the flavor is very, very smooth. Letting the fizz out of the beer a bit, the flavors of the grain really come through. This is barley juice, perfectly balanced with alpha hop bitterness. I wish I had the vocabulary to describe the individual malts used here, because there are at least 3 clearly distinct and identifiable malts here. Totally classic English.

Mild is not the most fun to drink, and the only thing I can ding this for is the over carbonation. Otherwise, another fantastic execution by Pretty Things.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2012 00:11:03 | More by hreb

beertardis

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

03-17-2013 23:40:53 | More by beertardis

Dank26

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

03-08-2013 00:57:02 | More by Dank26

Davepoolesque

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -23.4%

01-31-2013 18:20:35 | More by Davepoolesque

Giantspace

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

12-21-2012 05:48:20 | More by Giantspace

PEIhop

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +4.5%

12-15-2012 15:41:06 | More by PEIhop

ferrettman687

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%

11-25-2012 05:53:11 | More by ferrettman687

VernonKell

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

11-15-2012 22:56:39 | More by VernonKell

dunix

Vermont

4/5  rDev +11.4%

10-29-2012 15:07:21 | More by dunix

let8it8grow

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +18.4%

10-15-2012 02:04:43 | More by let8it8grow

anewlanguage

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -16.4%

10-12-2012 23:16:18 | More by anewlanguage

metter98

New York

3.45/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: The beer is hazy caramel-amber in color. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that left lacing on the surface and a ring of large bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are very light aromas of malts in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell but is slightly stronger; flavors of grainy and toasted malts are distinguishable.
M: It feels light-bodied (but not thin and watery) on the palate with a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very light and refreshing, making it easy to drink and perfectly sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2012 02:26:38 | More by metter98

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a hazy golden copper to amber in color with very light amounts of visible carbonation near the surface of the beer. The beer has a thin (maybe an eighth of a finger tall) white head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of mottled extremely thin film with a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: The overall aroma of this beer is quite mild with light malt smells.

T: There are moderate flavors of toasted and grainy malts with just a very light hint of sweetness. Overall the taste is pretty well balanced.

M: Light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: A very interesting experiment to bring back a beer as it was brewed over 65 years ago - I think the experiment was successful and I would definitely enjoy this beer again if I had the opportunity (perhaps I will seek out some of the others in this series when I go shopping next time). Very easy to drink and very sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2012 21:23:52 | More by dbrauneis

ComRock12

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

09-14-2012 02:16:05 | More by ComRock12

mountdew1

New Hampshire

3.48/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into an imperial pint glass. Color was a light golden brown wit ha 1 finger off white foamy head. Head lasted a few minutes before leaving a small layer and copious amounts of lacing on the sides. Handfuls of carbonation bubbled up from the bottom. Aroma was earthy, with caramelized grains being predominant. Taste was malty, a bit thin oatmeal bread. Felt thin in the mouth. Didn't coat well at all, but was nicely carbonated. Overall not a bad beer. However not an outstanding beer. Definitely not as developed or flavorful as others from Pretty Things.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 22:42:42 | More by mountdew1

Scottgeo

2.95/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I bought this beer as a companion to the 1838 recipe version. In comparison, there is no comparison! The 1838 recipe is so much bigger. Even considering this one on its own merits, I didn't find much exciting about this mild. I didn't get the creaminess I expected. It seemed a bit granular. Interesting experiment though.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2012 04:13:50 | More by Scottgeo

mactrail

California

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a lovely dark amber in the big chalice. Grains in the nose, kind of a brown rice aroma. Not as light bodied as you might expect, though certainly watery in a pleasant way. Plenty of carbonation to add some kick to the mouthfeel.

The grainy flavor is quite robust. Some browned biscuits and a little hop bitterness. Rather hoppy, but finishes with some restraint so as not to overpower the delicate malt. Sort of a rye toast flavor with some roasted malt and an interesting zing of bittering hops. Quite interesting a sensationally flavorful given the "table beer" strength.

An excellent quaff, nice for recalibrating the fluids after the salty surf. From the 22 oz bottle bought at Krisp, formerly Best Damn Beer Store, aka Super Junior Market.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 05:48:33 | More by mactrail

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.68/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Saw the two bottles at K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City, CA, and brought them back to Sydney, Australia to share side-by-side with @LaitueGonflable and @tobeerornottobe.

Pours a clear deep coppery colour, with a mild, filmy head of white that stays in pock-bubbled islands on the surface of the glass. Body is pretty solid and holds carbonation nicely. Looks decent enough.

Nose is rather pleasant. Firm grainy, slightly roasted and sweet malt characters, with a twist of biscuity nuance and even perhaps some vanilla. Not bad.

Taste is clear and clean, with more crisp grain notes giving an aromatic, sweet cookie fragrance to the brew as a whole. Despite the very thin body, the grain flavours manage to pull it through to the finish, leaving no weak or empty spots on the palate. It ends up pretty tasty.

Feel is weak and light, which is not unexpected.

Overall, this is decent stuff, and (surprisingly, given the back story) easily the better of the two. Perhaps I'm just a child of my century, but I much preferred this grainier, more flavoursome 1945 version than the insipid (although markedly stronger) 19th century version.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 05:33:11 | More by lacqueredmouse

GrindFatherBob

New York

5/5  rDev +39.3%

08-13-2012 13:44:56 | More by GrindFatherBob

UCLABrewN84

California

3.65/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottled I brought to share on the party bus to San Diego, CA.

Brewed 2/14/12.

Pours a murky dark orange with a foamy bone colored head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, and herbal hops. Taste is much the same but the flavors are somewhat mild. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate after each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a better smell than taste and not something I would go after again. Really interesting to see how the same beer changed over 100+ years with different recipes.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 01:06:39 | More by UCLABrewN84

Wally1912

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%

08-02-2012 20:04:52 | More by Wally1912

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Rich, three-finger head that settles in a lumpy fashion. Leaves plenty of chunky spots on the glass. The liquid is amber leaning on the darker side and cloudy.

Dry and earthy smell. Darker malt but with no sugar.

The flavor matches the nose but with a stronger level of bitterness which shows up in the swallow. Lighter body with an above average carbonation. There's a bit of a bite to the dry malt flavor.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 23:41:08 | More by smcolw

axeman9182

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle, thanks to jaasen64 for the hookup. It was poured into my Dogfish Head signature glass.

Pretty Things OUAT X Ale, February 22, 1945 pours an opaque amber, with some reddish highlights around the edges of the glass. Just under two fingers of off-white foam crown the beer, displaying a little bit of head retention and some solid lacing. The nose has some biscuit and nutty aromas, along with a touch of earthy hop character. The maltiness of the beer is a little more intense in the flavor profile. Along with the nutty and biscuit flavors, there's a slight coffee-like roasty edge to the proceedings. Bitterness is very restrained, and the earthy hops meld in well with the malt profile in the finish. The body, while still light, is surprisingly sturdy for a <3% beer, and is aided by a somewhat restrained carbonation. I really enjoyed this Once Upon A Time beer, proof that a good, flavorful beer can be brewed at such a low ABV.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2012 02:51:07 | More by axeman9182

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I love the idea of this series of beers – thank you, Pretty Things. Let’s see what was brewing in London over sixty years ago…

Brewed five months before the date of this tasting (“This batch brewed February 14th, 2012”).

A: Pours very light and foamy, dirty orange-brown and extremely bubbly. Smooth-as-silk foam, light tan and incredibly creamy in texture, is at an inch or so before it drifts delicately down to a remarkable pillowy retention. Lacing doesn’t stop – it IS the interior of the glass; superb.

S: Creamy, biscuity malt aromas are the center of this nose: rich caramel, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and a little maple. It’s unapologetically toasted caramel-forward, and I like it; straightforward British goodness, with complexity that I’d never expect from something so light.

T: Wow, that’s light. Huge mineral tones come out – the biggest I’ve ever had in a single beer – in droves of distinct, semi-metallic dryness. Hops are quite strong for such a low-alcohol beer (or they stick out because it’s such a low-alcohol beer), with bright flavors of herbal, flowery bitters. Think sparkling water with lemon – sweet and tart, zesty and light. Malts are mild and grainy, with a dark mix of nutty and buttery tastes, as well as a tannic profile that’s strong enough to match the hops. Chewy yeast presence on the palate’s end – mildly estery, and even better when you displace the yeast in the bottom of the bottle and pour it in. Aftertaste is a light, almost powdery dryness.

M: Slight seltzer texture on top of a thicker foundation of yeast. It comes out as a layered drink, which is at least interesting, if not enjoyable.

O: Once again, thank you Ron Pattinson and Pretty Things for such a cool experience in beer history. I’d never think something so light could be so flavorful – certainly an eye-opening experience.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 21:12:32 | More by BarryMFBurton

Gobzilla

California

3.33/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: poured a brown in color with light brown highlights and a thin bubbly head but did leave a little lacing sticking to the glass.

S: there was some mild roastiness, slight caramel sweetness, a bit of graininess and plenty of malty character.

T: the tase actually had some bitter hoppy flavor alongside caramel, hints of toffee, grainy notes, and sweet malty accents.

M: the brew was light to medium in body with a moderate amount of carbonation which had a sweet malty, slight roasty, grainy, and mild bitter hoppy finish.

O: haven't really had a whole lot of beers of this style but was pretty good and had an interesting combination of flavors going on.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2012 21:48:27 | More by Gobzilla